One of the 1st questions that springs to mind is how do we go about some sort of Bluetooth communication with anything from the emulator? Then I spotted this in the comments section of the Agent kickstarter page:

So that got me looking onto how this works so I set about following the instructions and here is the results of my findings:

PC Settings

The diagram above depicts how your host PC should be set up . Basically what you see here is that standard Bluetooth on the host machine is capable of providing COM Port based communication.

COM ports go back to the days of RS232 serial and Centronics parallel communication.They take care of the transmission of bytes between machines, Once you have a COM port open each device can send bytes down the wire.

To enable paired devices to open the COM port on your host PC you need to ensure that there is an incoming com port this is done in the Bluetooth settings:

You need one incoming COM port, this is done by tapping the add button and selecting incoming as the connection type.

Emulator settings

When you install the Agent SDK it installs the emulator with a standard settings configuration file if you have used the defaults then this config file will be located here:

Here you set the PhysicalPortName to the name of the port that you have ben given in the Bluetooth settings,

You are now ready to start writing code within your agent application that accepts connections from external paired devices.

Paring a windows phone

One area where people get bogged down in when paring a phone with your local PC is that after paring the phone does not stay connected. They tap on the phone in the list and it says connected but then appears to drop the connection after a short period of time.

To understand this you have to ask yourself why would the phone want to be connected via Bluetooth in the first place.The answer being that there isn’t any reason for it. There are no shared services that are part of each OS that require a connection so when the phone realises this it drops the connection.

It’s not until your application opens a connection to a service on the paired PC that the connection becomes active.

From what I know and given this scenario it is not possible for the Agent application to initiate communications with the paired device.

The Agent Application

NOTE: The rest of the code mentioned here will be based upon the AGENT SDK v0.1.1 (June 2013, Preview Release) and will be subject to change as the SDK gets closer to it;s version 1 release.

Given that the Agent emulator has a virtual COM port all the work is carried out using Stream based objects. The System.IO.Ports.SerialPort object is derived from System.Stream, so if you are familiar with working with streams then this should be familiar territory.

To add a serial port to your code that uses the host Bluetooth connection you just add the following line of code:

var serial = newSerialPort(“COM1”);

To make the serial port ready for data then you just open it:

serial.Open();

Ok so now we need to know when data is being sent to the application.This is best done by adding an event handler to the DataReceived event.

Agent app wise that’s it for this blog post if you want to see more implementation then have a look at the demonstration code linked at the bottom of this article.

The Windows Phone Application

A good place to start when writing a Bluetooth application for Windows Phone 8 is the Bluetooth App to device sample.

NOTE: One thing to remember when writing a Windows Phone application that uses Bluetooth is to set the ID_CAP_PROXIMITY app capability within your WMAppManifest.xml file (double click the file within VisualStudio) :

My example uses some simplified code to connect to the target machine and then send some data to the agent application.

This code is initialises the peer finder service then gets a list of devices. After that it users a filter of the list to find the peer that contains the name that is given by you (replace the ****YOUR PC NAME HERE*** with the name of your PC as it appears in the devices list).

If the function returns true then a socket connection to the Agent application has been made.

The second button “send stuff” sends the contents of the text box to the agent application. The button tap calls the following code:

]]>If you are looking for a way to add NFC support to your windows store applications then you have two options. The first is make sure you buy your hardware with an in built proximity sensor. This option is quite a layout of cash if you already have a desktop/laptop etc that you do your development on.

The second option is to purchase an external NFC card reader. For this your options are limited because of Windows 8 driver support. There is one however that was found by both Peter Footand Craig Hawker this is the FeliCa RC-S380 compact USB NFC reader and it is available in the UK from NFC Stuff at £88.68 (delivered).

If you do purchase this reader you will find that it does not install the drivers when you plug it in. to rectify this you will need to download and install the NFC Port Software from here: http://blog.felicalauncher.com/en/?p=594

Once installed you will see the sensor listed within the proximity devices list in device manager:

That’s it you now have a machine that will allow you to develop NFC enabled Windows Store applications.

]]>Hello again! It sure has been a while since I last posted but I am now going to get back into the swing of things, to start things off here are some thoughts I have had in regards to notifications and companion devices on the windows phone platform (A cross post from a forum post I made on the verge that can be found here: http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/15/3991692/windows-phone-notifications) .

Thoughts …

People say that Windows Phone lacks a notifications centre. This isn’t totally true there is a notifications area within Windows Phone here it is from my phone:

What is lacking is that the application notifications are missing. These notifications are the toast notifications that can be pushed to your phone by an external service or raised by one of the background services running on the phone (don’t get me started on those).

I admit this is a little hidden and maybe could do with an easier route UX wise. But IMHO all that is required is that this list is added to when a notification is raised. It’s the simplicity of this that confuses me when Microsoft say they couldn’t get this into WP8 before release.

One area that I see related to this and something that the people at MS need to act upon very quickly stems from a whole new device type that is gaining some traction and rising consumer expectation. That is wearable tech like the Pebble smart watch and others:

Not a great number I know but how many people do you know that use the User Voice site

All of this adds up to the need to be able to push the notifications including the number of unread emails, TXTS etc. out from the device onto an external display via a third party service. Something that the sandboxed environment that developers are provided with just does not allow.

Another problem is that the background tasks that the API provides are now allowed to run as regularly as is required or a task like keeping a companion device updated.

The way I see it is that the API requires a new app capability that is associated with a request for access to the user to allow the application to gain access to the notifications and read information like email, texts and calls (calendar and contacts are already a feature).

This will also require an event based hook so then an application can register to be notified when a relevant phone based event happens rather than having to run an agent in the background.

All lot of work to be done please MS please make it so!

UPDATE: There is a new kid on the block that should make things easer for app developers. Check out the Agent smart watch

]]>Friday 28th October will be my last day working for Sequence a talented full service Digital Agency in Cardiff.

I started in Sequence back in January 2007 where I had my sites firmly set on being a development team manager. After a year of trying I found that I had actually re-discovered my love for crafting code and designing / developing systems so I settled back into the position of Senior Developer.

During my time at Sequence I have had the pleasure of working on a variety of projects that have ranged in size from a small application to a large enterprise system. All of them in some way or form being web based.

The one project that really stands out for me and will actually go down as the highlight of my career so far was the Snow+Rock Pathfinder application. This Windows Phone 7 application started life as a pitch to Microsoft for a showcase application that was passed over in terms of showcase application in favour of other bidders. Luckily for Sequence one of these other bidders pulled out and left a gap that because of our designs and how the application was shaping up we were able to fill.

This resulted in me working closely with the Microsoft DPE team working very hard to get the application to pass the high Microsoft quality baseline right up to the make or break point before it got installed on a bunch of press phones for the pre launch event.

The biggest highlight was when Paul Foster of the DPE sent an email letting me know that the app panoramic had been used during the professional developers conference (as you can see in the pic).

The other technologies that I have had the pleasure of using have included Azure, SharePoint, Silverlight and Dynamics CRM this goes to show that the whole of the Microsoft product stack is what interests me and I enjoy producing solutions with.

Why leave?

Sequence has built a reputation for great design and do constantly deliver well designed web sites but the opportunity to work in any medium other than HTML are scarce. Now the time is right and I feel that I would like to work on some projects that push my buttons, I find XAML a much more exciting way to build UI’s that feels so much more right and polished then HTML. That said I won’t be totally abandoning Web based projects but variety is the spice.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people at Sequence for making the last 4 years hectic, interesting, taxing … well everything you would expect when working at an agency!

So what’s next?

I am moving on to a much smaller firm that’s a little closer to home. Here I will have the opportunity to push those buttons of mine.

What about the Cardiff WPUG

Up until now Sequence have been kind enough to help with the group even going as far as providing the drinks. Another thing that I would like to thank them for. The group is however going with me and I will continue to organise events. Yes things have been quiet recently and I do apologise for that but plans are afoot so expect some news soon.

]]>Does your app use live tiles to pin a tile that relates to a location that has a known Latitude and Longitude? If so did you know that it is easy to have a map of that location appear on that tile. This is done by using the Bing maps imagery service.

As you can see both the BackgroundImage and BackBackgroundImage take a Uri in the code above. The Uri above is specified as Relative this means that the images can be located within the apps content (as part of the XAP file) or within the applications isolated storage.

You are however not restricted to relative Uri’s you can specify Absolute Uri’s for the image. This opens up the ability to have the image come from an external web server. This is where the Bing maps imagery API comes in.

The API is a RESTfull service which means that all calls to get an image is nothing more complicated than a Uri

You can find out more about using the Bing maps Rest services here : link with the details of the imagery services found here: link You will also need to get yourself an application key so that you can use the service. Details can be found here: link

so for adding the image to a live tile all you need to do is get the Uri in the correct format and set that to be the source image of the tile here is an example how how I go about this:

There was I thinking that my exam didn’t go well but this morning I got notification that I had passed the exam!

This is the 1st time that I have been an MCP in any way. I am well chuffed!

]]>https://mikehole.com/2011/07/14/i-passed/feed/3mikehole2011-07-14 08h25_06An end to the good times before they even start? …https://mikehole.com/2011/06/06/an-end-to-the-good-times-before-they-even-start/
https://mikehole.com/2011/06/06/an-end-to-the-good-times-before-they-even-start/#commentsMon, 06 Jun 2011 20:22:27 +0000http://mikehole.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/an-end-to-the-good-times-before-they-even-start/…

I think this is mainly down to the fact that it was an attempt to spread some good news for developer who develop .net applications using XAML and c# or VB.

As of now there are 20K+ applications for windows phone 7 and this list is growing at quite an impressive rate. This rate of growth is because of the ease at which these developers can write applications. People who work for large corporates developing enterprise applications using .NET can now become app publishers and can deviate from writing anonymous code that drives a cog of large enterprise systems.

These people I have met at our growing local user group. They are loving the application development platform that Microsoft have put together for them and have a hunger for more.

If you are a developer that has been developing code for Android or iPhone then you will have started with a single form factor in which your code runs on and found that that the available form factors has increased and you now not only develop for the phone but your apps can be made to run on the new and emerging tablet based devices.

Microsoft have made great strides with Windows 8 to ensure that it has the capabilities to run on a multitude of form factors. It is here that they are hedging their bets on windows running anywhere.

So where will we stand when it comes to Tablets and native development when can we start re-using our code from within those 20K+ applications so that we can start reaping the benefits of the next set of platforms.

Well from what Microsoft have disclosed in regards to the Windows 8 developer experience so far that just won’t be happening.

There has just been no message from Microsoft that states that don’t worry we still do native, and it will work within this snazzy new UI.

It’s all been HTML and JS as a brand new application development platform.

If this stays the case then once you are a Windows Phone developer you will be staying a Windows Phone developer and if you have a great app then you will have to port it.

Right now the message is that people will have to wait for the Build conference to actually find out what the developer story will be. And of course more and more FUD will enter the mind of us developers as time goes on.

One item that may enter peoples heads is that Microsoft are shifting their developer strategy and application platform to HTML and JS even on Windows Phone (ARM and SOC means that Win 8 can power a phone at some point – phones are mentioned in the Intel article).

If people start experiencing this kind of fear and uncertainty they are going to stop developing apps and the rate at which the marketplace is building will slow down if not stop.

We so need to know what’s happening and we need to know sooner rather than later.

It was quite an impressive turnout and I would like to say thanks to all those who came along. We do have a nice group of people building who share a passion for the Windows Phone platform. It can only go from strength to strength.

Thanks to Nick Ajderian from www.hattjoys.co.uk for providing a very entertaining and passionate talk on getting data from Twitter and chucking it on a map – Shame that the internet connection was poor and Nick had to resort to well prepared backup plans. Next time we won’t leave everything to the venue.

Thanks also to Iestyn Jones for demoing his good looking application Welsh Kitchen. Iestyn has actually published 4 applications to the market place (search for ‘Bugail’ in Zune) and received his XBox from the Think.Dev Rewards program.

For those of you looking to follow up from some of the items mentioned in my talk here are some links:

One thing that I failed to mention was the alternatives to the Preemptive analytics. There is an Analytics library on Codeplex that supports Windows Phone 7 and different analytics (that’s way too many uses of the work in one paragraph) services such as the one provided by Google.

We have lots more planned for upcoming meetings (the next likely to be mid July) so watch this space.

]]>https://mikehole.com/2011/06/02/cardiffwpug-2/feed/0mikeholeMore good times for app developers?https://mikehole.com/2011/05/18/more-good-times-for-app-developers/
https://mikehole.com/2011/05/18/more-good-times-for-app-developers/#commentsWed, 18 May 2011 07:58:38 +0000http://mikehole.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/more-good-times-for-app-developers/…

In this article the beans are spilt in regards to Windows 8 running on ARM processors (by an Intel exec of all people).

Microsoft has targeted the ARM processor architecture because Win8 will have version that will run on all sorts of platforms that require low power consumption such as Tablets, Smartphones (although this is unlikely as we have WP7) and small form factor PC’s. This then is a big enabler for MS to finally get into the tablet market big time.

But there is one other point that is mentioned, and that is that legacy applications won’t run on the Arm architecture. The author even states ‘Developers may also face challenges writing their apps for both platforms’.

Urm no! – Yes we have to lament that great applications that you use every day won’t run but if you really need to run those applications then you can always stick to Intel based kit (and I am sure Intel will love you for it).

But us developers have Silverlight andI will bet my left arm that the Arm based Win8 is going to run that (This is another sign of why that shift in priorities that people saw as the death of SIlverlight was mentioned).

So what is SIlverlight? It’s an enabler for the write once run anywhere (pc, phone tablet, set top box etc.). Something that us app developers will cherish.

If you like me also follow the rumour mill then you will know that Microsoft are looking to create an app store (can I use those words without being sued?). The backbone of this considering the different architectures that Win8 is going to support has to be Silverlight based I am sure.

What this means for us developers is that there is yet another eco-system on it’s was (people are going to want applications and right now there isn’t any).

So if I was you I would start learning Silverlight and building your app ideas because it looks like there are some good time ahead for those who get in first.

One of my applications on the marketplace is the countdown tile application. This is a simple application that when pinned to the home screen lets you see a countdown of the number of days until a certain date.

This application has recorded 6299 unique users to date. It’s had a mixed bag as far as reviews is concerned but this is mainly down to the fact that the tile update isn’t the most reliable mechanism on the phone system (something for another blog post to come soon).

One feature that people ask for is the ability to use their own pictures in the background of the tile. This is something that I have been aiming to do for a ‘Pro’ version of the application to try and convert some of the 6K users into 75p purchasers

With this and the fact that some of the new updates to the live tile services within the Mango platform update that is coming has prompted me to create a control that lets user be a little more creative with the tile that they would like to create.

I am in the early stages of putting together a Tile Maker control that presents the user with an area the size of a standard live tile. Behind this area can be placed an image that the user wants to use within the tile. This image can be moved around by using multi-touch gestures. Once the user has the image in the desired place they can then take a snapshot of the tile area to use as the live tile.

If this control interests you you can download the current Alpha code from codeplex at this link: